


Safe and Sound (at last)

by ScytheMarieAntoinette



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Nightmares, annabeth has a nightmare, inspired by safe and sound by taylor swift, mild panic attack, percy tries to comfort her, post-tartarus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29680719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScytheMarieAntoinette/pseuds/ScytheMarieAntoinette
Summary: "Sleeping hasn’t been easy for him, but somehow he’s still startled awake by a scream."Annabeth is the bravest person Percy knows, but even the strongest can break.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41





	Safe and Sound (at last)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much mauvepens for beta reading this fic!! 
> 
> uhhhh this probably takes place sometime after annabeth and percy get out of tartarus, but before the major battles in BoO. idk I didn't really think of a time frame. 
> 
> Lyrics are from Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift

* * *

**_You and I'll be safe and sound_ **

Sleeping certainly hasn’t been easy for him lately. Not that it’s ever been a simple matter to go to sleep, but recently Percy tosses and turns more than he lays still. His eyes are open and staring a hole into the ceiling more often than they are closed and relaxed. Tartarus has taken a toll on his mind as well as his body. 

While his scars are slowly fading and his strength returning, his mind has yet to heal. It seems incapable of letting go of the horrors he faced. The horrors _they_ faced. Every time he closes his eyes, all he can see is the hellish landscape before him, dusty red rocks stretching out for miles and miles, as far as the eye can see. 

Sleeping hasn’t been easy for him, but somehow he’s still startled awake by a scream. 

It’s piercing. High. Right in his ear. For a moment, all he can remember is screaming. Screaming as they fell through mushroom clouds of gray mist, holding on to each other like a lifeline (after all, that’s what they’ve always been to each other, haven’t they?) Screaming as they fought primal beasts and monsters that should never have seen the light of day. Screaming as they ran, stumbling mindlessly across beaten ground. His heart pounds double-time in his chest. He forces the memories away. He flips around to face Annabeth beside him, but the blanket twists around his legs, constricting them, squeezing them, pulling him down down down into the abyss and - 

No. He’s not being dragged back into Tartarus. He’s never going back there. _It’s okay,_ he tells himself, trying to get his breathing under control. _It’s okay. You’re safe._ He’s got to be strong. If not for himself, then at least for the terrified girl next to him. 

It took a couple of arguments with Coach Hedge, a few smirks from Leo, but Annabeth was allowed to sleep in his room. The others couldn’t possibly understand what they had gone through, what they were still going through. It was lonely, at times. Even before the fall, there was a distance between the two oldest members of the group and the rest, but now the gap seemed almost insurmountable. 

Percy sits up and draws Annabeth up to him, against his chest. He gently rocks her back and forth, murmuring reassuring things in her ear, _It’s okay, you’re alright. We’re safe here._

He’s learned from experience not to try to wake Annabeth when she’s having a nightmare. She lashes out, panicked and scared, whenever he shakes her from her mind. He’s got to let her fight it by herself, and come out on top. The best he can do is silently cheer her on. And he knows she can. Once she’s awake, he’ll do whatever he can to comfort her. 

Another muffled cry leaves her lips, though it’s quieter this time. A little less terrified and a little more strangled. Like she’s fighting to get her terror under control, fighting to get out of the prison that is her mind. 

Then Annabeth is flying awake with a ragged gasp, her steel-gray eyes already brimming with tears. She looks around wildly for a moment before registering his arms around her. She tries to take a deep breath, but it cracks and she buries against him, stifling a sob. With each noise, Percy can feel his heart break a little bit more.

He knows how she feels. Knows the hellscape that they’re forced to return to, night after night. This particular dream must have been especially horrible, for it to have this type of effect on her. He’s worried. 

He hums comfortingly, rubbing her back, stroking her hair, letting her cry on his shoulder. Lets her cry until she’s gotten it all out, and is just trembling in his arms as he attempts to warm her. 

Finally, he gets her to look at him. “You want to talk about it?” he asks. He resists the urge to ask if she’s okay because _obviously, she’s not_. 

Her voice is gravelly when she speaks. “We were falling.” 

_I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'll never let you go_

**“Percy, let me go.”**

**“Never.”**

Her fingers tighten on his arms, her nails jagged and torn from biting them fiercely. They cut into his skin, but he lets her. He’s her anchor. She’s got to have proof that this is real, that she’s not dreaming about this in a dark cave somewhere in Tartarus. As long as she can feel him, she knows she’s safe.

She lets out a choked sound. “We were falling and falling and we never stopped. We just kept _falling_.”

He takes her hand, squeezes it gently, then places it on the bed. “Annabeth, feel this? We’re on a bed. We’re on the Argo. We’re not falling, okay?” 

She nods, her scraggly blonde hair wild and tangled around her head, tickling his cheek. He hears the oxygen rattle in her lungs as she takes a shaky breath. “Then -” She fails to keep her composure. “Then Arachne was there. She almost killed me.” 

_When all those shadows almost killed your light_

**Arachne hurls herself at Annabeth. Percy feels as though he’s trapped in molasses, the air too thick and heavy to move properly. He’ll never save her in time. Never, never, never- Somehow, he gets his sword out. Arachne’s spindly, clawed hands are inches from Annabeth’s head before he slices her throat open. She gives an ear-splitting wail and explodes into yellow dust.**

That memory is definitely not one he wants to relive. He’s got to take a few deep breaths of his own, has to blink quickly to ward away tears. He’d almost been too late to save her. He’d almost let her die. He shakes his head. Negative thoughts won’t help, not now. He’s got to comfort her. 

He hugs her tightly, wishing he could do something, anything, to stop her body from shaking. “Arachne’s dead. She’s gone. She won't get to you ever again,” he murmurs.

He sees her flex her ankle, the one she broke while searching for the Athena Parthenos. The one that had been wrapped in spider silk, the reason why they had fallen into Tartarus in the first place.

He scowls at himself. Annabeth was not to blame. It was that fucking spider-lady. 

“You left me. You died and I couldn’t save you and you left me all alone.” He can tell this sentence hurts her to say more than he’ll ever know.

_I remember you said don't leave me here alone_

**Everything feels so foggy. He can feel water sloshing against his body, water that threatens to take him under.** **_Good,_ ** **he thinks.** **_Let it. Let me drown. I can’t deal with this anymore._ ** **Then, there’s something stopping him from sinking. He hears hysterical words, someone shouting at him. They bounce around his skull.**

**“Fight it! Percy, you have to fight it. Look at me, look at me. I’ll kill you if you die, you know that! Please don’t leave me...”**

“I’ll never leave you, Annabeth, I swear. Everything I do is always for you.” He turns her to face him. Her eyes are bloodshot and wet, her cheeks blotchy, her lip quivering. She nestles against him, drawing her legs up. He puts his arm around her back and lets her head lean on his shoulder. 

Suddenly, she’s crying, shuddering sobs wracking her body so much that she folds over. Frightened and alarmed, he reaches for her, calling her name. “Annabeth. Annabeth! Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay, it’s okay.” 

When he finally gets her to look at him, tears form rivers down her face, dripping into her mouth and off her chin. He cups her face, softly swiping the tears away 

“I can’t!” she cries, twisting out of his grip, shaking her head so violently he thinks it might roll off. “I can’t do this, I can’t I can’t I can’t!”

“Annabeth!” He tries to grasp her hands, but they flail around in the air, beating against his chest, his arms. 

“Don’t touch me!” she shrieks. “No, don’t touch me.”

He backs off, giving her the space she needs. He tells her encouraging things, hoping his words will help her. After a moment, Percy opens his arms, and Annabeth falls into his embrace. She’s hysterical with panic and terror, and all he can think is that this isn’t how it should be. This isn’t how she should be. Annabeth was always so strong and resilient and brave, gods how did this all go so wrong?

Percy holds her tight, even as she trembles and breathes too quickly. He wipes a hand across her forehead, feeling her skin slick with sweat. He doesn’t speak, just rocks her back and forth and offers the comfort of his presence. 

“Tartarus!” she says through thick tears. “It’s like we never left. It’s like - I can’t do this, I -”

Percy knows what she means. Everywhere he goes, he still _feels_ the place weighing him down. He can still hear the snarls of creatures prowling around, smell the dense sulfurous air, see the monsters crawling out of blisters in the ground, taste the Phlegethon’s water burning down his throat. 

He feels light-headed as his heart begins to beat faster. He clenches his teeth and counts to ten. 

“Hey, I know how you feel. I know what you’re going through. But you are safe, Annabeth. You can get through this. Do you want to try counting to ten?” 

He focuses on his breathing as they murmur numbers quietly. He hears her own breathing slowly start to even out as she mimics his deep breaths. 

“Tell me what you need, Annabeth. I want to help you.” 

Her eyes cut through his own as she looks at him. Her fingers shake a little as she takes his hand and places it on her cheek. “Can you take my mind off all of this?”

_Just close your eyes, the sun is going down_

“Okay, close your eyes.”

She stares at him like he’s lost his mind.

“Just trust me,” he hurries to add. “I have an idea. 

“Okay,” she whispers.

She closes her eyes. Despite the uneasiness in his gut, he does the same. Immediately, nightmarish visions and scenes flash before his eyes. He sees darkness, blood, chasms and he’s falling falling falling - He grits his teeth, feeling a familiar swell of dread. In front of him, Annabeth lets out a whimper. 

He stops his mind from spiraling into despair, takes a deep breath. It won’t do to freak out in front of the person he’s trying to help. 

“Let’s imagine…” His brain works quickly to think of something pleasant. “Imagine this: The war is over. All of us survived. We graduated high school and moved to New Rome for college. You’re studying architecture, and I’m studying…”

“Surfing?” she asks quietly, teasingly. He feels himself smile. 

“Haha, funny,” he says. The weight of all the memories lessens a little. He feels just a bit lighter. “I was thinking Marine Biology.” 

Annabeth hums pleasantly, and Percy can feel her relaxing. Her breathing is less harsh. Slowly, he leans forward and puts his forehead to hers. 

“We graduate,” he continues. “You’ll become a world-famous architect, and I’ll just be your lowly marine biologist boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Annabeth says softly, uncertainly. 

He hesitates only a moment before confidently saying, “Husband. We’ll get married. It’ll be such an extravagant affair it’ll put all others to shame. It’ll be so heart-wrenchingly beautiful that even your mother will start crying.”

She laughs shakily. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” she says, wistfully. He knows how she feels. Marriage is the last thing on the mind of any average teenager, but Percy really can imagine spending his life with Annabeth. . He longs for a simple life with her. All he wants is to spend the rest of his days with her by his side, safe and at peace. 

“And we’ll have a kid too,” he says, and he hears Annabeth inhale sharply. He fears he’s overstepped, until she gives a watery laugh.

“What would we name them?”

He’d been waiting for that question. He’s already got the answer on his tongue. “Michael.” He fights down a snigger. 

It takes her a moment to get it, and then she’s swatting at his arm. “Percy, I am not naming our child Michael Jackson.” She hiccups as she laughs. 

He pouts. “But Annabeth,” he protests, then gives a dramatic sigh. “Oh well, guess I’ll have to settle for Perseus Jr. 'Percy Jackson Jr, you were named after the bravest man I ever knew. Me.'” 

“I hate you, Percy.” He easily translates this to, “I love you, Percy.”

“Love you too, Annabeth.”

He finally opens his eyes and lightly squeezes her hands still held by his own. She opens her eyes. They’re big and still shimmer slightly, but he’s relieved to see no more pain or terror in them. He opens his arms and she doesn’t hesitate to nestle into his embrace. 

_You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now_

“Thanks, Percy.”

“You’re welcome.” He tightens his hold on her and burrows his face into her hair. Even as wild and messy as it is, it still retains the sweet smell of her shampoo. “I’m not letting anything hurt you ever again.”

It’s kind of hard to promise that when there’s a war going on, but he means it. 

The mood in the room dims. 

“Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is Tartarus,” Annabeth whispers. 

“I know, babe. I know.” He rubs her arms soothingly. “But I’m here, okay? If you need me, I’m always going to be right here. And I know that the nightmares aren’t going to go away any time soon, but it’s going to get better. We’ll get better.”

_Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound_

“We’re safe, okay? _You’re safe.”_

Annabeth puts a hand over his chest, over his heart. She smiles slightly. “Who knew you could be so sentimental, Seaweed Brain?”

He grins. “Don’t ruin the moment.”

They lay there until morning, until the bright light chases away any lingering thoughts of the dark. 

~

The next night, she’s wrapped in Percy’s embrace. He’s warm against her back. He’s her rock, someone solid and strong and unrelenting to lean on. After everything they’ve been through, she needs him now more than ever.

Last night’s nightmare is still prominent in her mind, but it’s occasionally tackled aside by the memory of leaning against Percy, closing her eyes, and imagining the future she wants so much it hurts. That memory leaves her giddy and light as a feather, a sharp contrast to the doom and gloom of her nightmare. 

She knows they won’t go away. She knows it’ll be a while before she sleeps peacefully again. But with Percy by her side, she’s bound to be alright. 

Behind her, he begins humming softly. It sounds like a lullaby. She doesn’t recognize the melody. It’s sad and emotional and _haunting._ But she doesn’t feel haunted at all. She feels comforted. She feels peaceful. She feels safe. 

At last. 

**_You and I'll be safe and sound_ **

**Author's Note:**

> i'm so used to writing valgrace, writing percabeth is hard lol
> 
> i'd really appreciate if you left a comment telling me what you liked about this fic. it really helps my writing in the future ✨✨


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